How to Make the Most of Your Email Marketing Efforts

You may have heard that email marketing is dead; however, email marketing is still a great tool to incorporate into your strategic marketing plan. In fact, 89% of marketers, in a HubSpot survey, said that email was their primary channel for lead generation. (source) When done well, emails include content that is most relevant to your audience, keeping them engaged and wanting to learn more. Whether you are delivering a specific marketing message, educating existing customers, or working to generate and nurture new leads, there are a variety of formats your email can take to better boost your inbound marketing.

Educational

Educating your audience is a powerful way to engage your current clients. Providing information they might want to know about your industry in general or your brand, product or services in particular may encourage them to subscribe for more.

Promotional

Promotional emails are a great way to showcase new products & services, events and special discounts your audience can take advantage of, encouraging them to act on your offer’s specific call-to-action. Email’s ease-of-use and lower cost allows you to test multiple offers – to fine tune and improve your messaging.

Lead Generation

For the browsing “window shopping” customer, consider lead nurturing. Lead nurturing involves sending emails to build trust with your future lead. Those customers might not be ready to purchase now, but nurturing helps engage them to come back when they are ready. By providing interesting and relevant content that answers questions they may have, you’ll help to guide them through the decision-making process.

Newsletters

Above all, newsletter emails are definitely a must. If your audience has purchased your product and hasn’t heard from you, chances are they might not come back. Newsletters inspire your audience to come back for more by including what is new and relevant in your business – ultimately to generate more sales from those same customers.

So, how do you send these emails the right way?

With the millions of emails sent out daily, traditional emails just won’t make the cut and sending all of your audiences the same content won’t produce more traffic or the desired results. Instead, create targeted contact lists based on their industry type or product area of interest. By tailoring the message and content, you are creating more valuable information that will better appeal to your audience.

Additionally, be sure to value your audience. Your recipients shouldn’t be pressured to go right for the sale, especially if they are new prospective customers.

While many industries have different sales cycles, we encourage you to structure your email frequency to be more consistent. Analyze the email insights compared to the days and times yours emails are sent. Take a look at which times and days you are successfully reaching your audience and adjust from there.

There are a variety of tools available for businesses that help you improve your email marketing: Mailchimp, Constant Contact, GetResponse… Luckily you’re only a quick web search away from a wide range of choices.

All in all, email marketing certainly isn’t going away. With 89% of marketers using email for lead generation, you’re missing out if you don’t take advantage of the benefits of email marketing. Make your brand stand out and connect with your audience the right way.

Still unsure how to reach your audience more effectively? Connect with us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your email marketing results and grow your business.